Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority 2012 ANNUAL REPORT OVERVIEW OVERVIEW Oak Bluffs The pier at the Authority’s Oak Bluffs terminal sustained considerable Pier Damage damage from Hurricane Sandy, including piles that no longer supported the structure, split stringers, destroyed decking, and damage to the transfer bridge and electrical system connections. In an effort to minimize damage to the pier during similar severe weather events in the future, the repair work planned for the pier will replace the wooden piles and pile caps with steel piles and pile caps. In December 2012, President Barack Obama issued a Major Disaster Declaration, in response to Governor Deval Patrick’s request, which will allow the Authority to apply for federal funds for the cost of the storm-related repairs. The Authority is eligible to be reimbursed for 75% of the cost of those repairs and 100% of the cost of its mitigation measures, such as replacing timber piles and pile caps with steel piles and pile caps, which will reduce or eliminate the threat of similar damage in the future. The Authority has awarded contracts totaling $1,879,370 to repair the damaged pier. The repair work is expected to be completed in time for the terminal’s re-opening for the summer season on May 16, 2013. M/V Eagle In the spring of 2012, the Authority completed the mid-life refurbishment of Mid-Life the M/V Eagle. The project was undertaken in two phases, with the first phase completed at Colonna’s Shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia, in 2011 and the second Refurbishment phase at Thames Shipyard in New London, Connecticut, in 2012. The project included a complete sandblasting and recoating of all exterior surfaces, replacement of all exterior windows, installation of a new marine evacuation slide system, and the complete replacement of the joiner work, decking, and seating on the vessel’s passenger deck. The final cost of the project was $9,466,433, including the cost of engineering and design, owner- supplied materials, and construction oversight by Authority personnel. New Bedford– In July 2012, Fred LaPiana, Tisbury’s Director of Public Works, reported on Martha’s Vineyard the efforts being made by the Towns of Tisbury and Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard to transport and dispose of their refuse by barge. A study was Freight Service performed on the feasibility of establishing a containerized service between New Bedford and Martha’s Vineyard, which indicated that the Towns should be able to transport their rubbish to New Bedford less expensively by barge than by sending it in trucks on the Authority’s boats if they could transport at least 18 containers per barge. Mr. LaPiana stated that if the Towns compressed and baled their rubbish, depending on how it is done, they might not need containers at all, and that the numbers were already compelling. Baling the trash would only make those numbers even better. Mr. LaPiana also noted THE STEAMSHIP AUTHORITY | 2012 ANNUAL REPORT 5 OVERVIEW Freight Service that if the operation is a success on this smaller scale, the Towns would then ...continued look toward including the other four Towns on the Vineyard in this operation. Rescue by the On August 12, 2012, the crew of the M/V Gay Head responded to an urgent Crew of the marine information broadcast regarding a fishing vessel taking on water in Nantucket Sound approximately 12 miles north of Nantucket. Captain M/V Gay Head Raymond Oliver and his crew, consisting of Pilot/Mate Bernadino Ramos; Ordinary Seamen Shawn Pimental, John McDonough, and Benjamin Burlos; and also Chief Engineer Maureen Glennon and Oiler Antonio Ferreira, launched their rescue boat and pulled three fishermen from the sinking vessel within 15 minutes of arriving on the scene. In a letter to Captain Oliver, U.S. Coast Guard Captain Verne Gifford, Commander of Sector Southeastern New England, acknowledged and commended “the swift actions, sound judgment and expert seamanship of Captain Oliver and his crew” in responding to the distress call. They are all to be congratulated for doing such an outstanding job in responding and rescuing the three fishermen before their vessel sank. Online In December 2012, the Authority launched a new online merchandising Merchandising store, where customized products like canvas bags, ties, tumblers, wood keepsake boxes, and crystal decanters featuring the Authority’s vessels Program are available for sale. The merchandise is designed in two styles (one for Martha’s Vineyard and one for Nantucket) and is available for sale 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the Authority’s website, SteamshipAuthority.com. 50 Bernard In December 2012, the Authority purchased the property located at St. Jean Drive 50 Bernard St. Jean Drive, Falmouth, for use as the future site of the Authority’s bus maintenance facility. The property, which consists of a 5,000 square-foot industrial building on a 4.3-acre site, is located next to the 18.6-acre property that the Authority is purchasing from The Four Stones, LLC and Acme Precast Co. Inc. for the construction of a consolidated off-site parking lot off Thomas B. Landers Road. The Authority’s current bus maintenance facility will be relocated from the Authority’s Palmer Avenue parking lot. The relocation of the bus maintenance facility, along with the previous acquisition of the former Falmouth Youth Hockey League property, including the demolition of the old ice arena, is expected to provide up to 500 additional parking spaces at the Palmer Avenue parking lot. 6 THE STEAMSHIP AUTHORITY | 2012 ANNUAL REPORT OVERVIEW Safety and In 2006, the Authority initiated a five-day basic safety training program for Training all of its vessel employees. Although the U.S. Coast Guard does not require the Authority to provide this training, all of our vessel employees have been through this program at least once and the Authority continues to provide retraining on a rotating basis. Approximately 60 vessel employees are assigned to the U.S. Coast Guard–approved basic safety training program each year for one week at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. This advanced maritime safety training program includes personal survival skills, safety, firefighting, first aid, and CPR. Emergency The Authority revised its emergency transportation policy to ensure that Transportation it is being used only for the purposes for which it was adopted, namely, for people with genuine medical emergencies. An ambulance or a customer’s Policy vehicle will continue to be boarded on a preferential basis when it needs to be transported from the island to the mainland without delay for emergency medical care that is not available on the island. In addition, the vehicles of customers traveling on standby for medical reasons will also continue to be boarded ahead of the vehicles of other standby customers when either (1) there is an urgent need to travel without additional delay because the customers are in severe pain, distress, or discomfort; or (2) the failure to provide preferential boarding would create the potential for deterioration or instability in the customers’ physical condition or would otherwise jeopardize their care. Customers will be required to provide written verification from their physicians or health care providers of their urgent need to travel on the Authority’s ferry without delay. The determination of whether a customer’s vehicle should receive preferential boarding will be made by the Mashpee reservations supervisor when the request is made during regular business hours or by the terminal agent when the reservations supervisor is not available. Customers with vehicle reservations who are “bumped” so that ambulances and other vehicles may travel without delay are not only entitled to a refund of their one-way fare but are also boarded on the next available ferry at no charge. THE STEAMSHIP AUTHORITY | 2012 ANNUAL REPORT 7 OVERVIEW Embarkation Fees On behalf of its port communities, the Authority collected town-imposed ferry embarkation fees totaling $918,001 from passengers traveling on its vessels during 2012. A state law passed in 2003 allows any city or town in Barnstable, Dukes, Nantucket, and Bristol counties to accept the provision that requires the Authority and certain other private ferry operators to impose a 50-cent per person ferry embarkation fee for travel originating from its community. The law exempts certain passengers from the town-mandated fee, including certain island residents traveling at excursion rates, commuters using ticket books, and those traveling in school-related groups. The fees collected under the statute by the various ferry operators are distributed to the respective cities and towns through the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. The statute requires each city or town to deposit the monies received into a special fund “to be solely appropriated for the purpose of mitigating the impacts of ferry service on the city or town. Monies deposited may be appropriated for services including, but not limited to, providing harbor services, public safety protection, emergency services, or infrastructure improvements within and around the harbor.” The ferry embarkation fees collected by the Authority in 2012 were distributed through the Massachusetts Department of Revenue to the following port towns that have accepted the provisions of the statute: Barnstable .....$ 79,600 * Falmouth .......355,636 Nantucket ......106,025 Oak Bluffs .......107,910 Tisbury .........242,297 Yarmouth ........ 26,533 ** * 75% of fees collected from passengers departing from the Town of Barnstable ** 25% of fees collected from passengers departing from the Town of Barnstable By the end of 2012, a total of $8,123,966 in ferry embarkation fees had been collected from passengers traveling on the Authority’s vessels for the port towns that have accepted the provisions of Chapter 46 of the Acts of 2003, as amended by Chapter 55 of the Acts of 2003 and Chapter 65 of the Acts of 2004.